Iraq's government welcomed U.S. presidential contender Barack Obama on Monday with a message of apparent common ground on American troop withdrawal goals: expressing hopes that combat forces could leave by 2010.
The statement by Iraq's government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, came following talks between Obama and Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki _ who has struggled for days to clarify Iraq's position on a possible timetable for a U.S. troop pullout.
Al-Dabbagh said the government did not endorse a fixed date, but was hopeful that American combat units could be out of Iraq sometime in 2010.
The timeframe falls within the 16-month withdrawal plan proposed by Obama, who arrived in Iraq earlier in the day as part of a congressional fact-finding team.
"We are hoping that in 2010 that combat troops will withdraw from Iraq," al-Dabbagh told reporters, noting that any withdrawal plan was subject to change if the level of violence kicks up again.
Obama made no public statements following the talks with al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone. Obama also plans meetings with U.S. military commanders who will outline recent progress in the war he has opposed from the start.
The Iraqi government comment on troop withdrawals could be embraced by the Obama campaign, but may irritate White House officials. The Bush administration has refused to set specific troop level targets and only last week offered to discuss a "general time horizon" for a U.S. combat troop exit.
The Iraqi stance also is another wrinkle in a confusing series of remarks and denials in recent days.
Al-Maliki was quoted last week by the German magazine Der Spiegel appearing to endorse Obama's 16-month timetable. The Iraqi leader's aides have since said his comments were misunderstood, and he is not taking sides in the U.S. election.
The U.S. military also took the unusual step of translating and distributing the Iraqi government reaction to the Der Spiegel article.
The meetings with Iraqi officials came after Obama began his first on-the-ground inspection of Iraq since launching his bid for the White House.
It marked the second major leg of a war zone tour that opened in Afghanistan. The contrasts in tone and message were distinct.
Obama sees the battle against the resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan as America's most crucial fight and supports expanding troop strength to counter a sharp rise in attacks.
But Obama had stood against the Iraq invasion and now worries that an open-ended U.S. combat mission will sap military resources and focus _ at a time when Iraq violence has dropped to its lowest level in four years.
The Illinois senator _ traveling in a congressional delegation with senators Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska _ arrived first in the southern city of Basra, the U.S. Embassy said.
Basra is the center for about 4,000 British troops involved mostly in training Iraqi forces. An Iraqi-led offensive begun in March reclaimed control of most of the city from Shiite militia believed linked to Iran.
His meetings in Baghdad were expected to include the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and other military chiefs outlining the significant gains in recent months against both Shiite militia and Sunni insurgents including al-Qaida in Iraq.
The White House and military leaders _ and many residents of Baghdad _ trace the momentum back to last year's buildup of more than 30,000 troops in areas around Iraq's capital. Obama's challenger, Senator John McCain, has tried to hammer Obama on his critical remarks before the so-called "surge."
In an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," McCain said he hoped Obama would now "have the opportunity to see the success of the surge."
"This is the same strategy that he voted against, railed against," McCain said. "He was wrong about the surge. It is succeeding and we are winning."
All five surge brigades have left Iraq, but there are still about 147,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, more than in early 2007.
Iraqi leaders also pressed Obama for more clarity on his long-term vision for relations with Washington. Such discussions have added importance since Iraq and U.S. negotiators appear stalled in efforts to reach a long-range pact to define future U.S. military presence and obligations.
American diplomats hoped to reach a final accord by the end of the month, but it now seems the goal is a stopgap "bridge" document that would maintain the status for U.S. forces once a U.N. mandate on their presence expires at the end of the year. Such as move would leave the hard bargaining to the next president.
It was unclear whether Obama would make any public appearances or comments while in Iraq. But even a low-key visit may garner more scrutiny than any stage of his overseas trip, which is scheduled to move on to Jordan, Israel and European capitals.
Iraq is one of the lighting rods in the presidential showdown with McCain.
McCain has been critical of Obama's position on Iraq, saying the decision to pull out should be determined by progress, not a timetable. McCain also strongly backed the troop surge into Iraq last year.
There is no question that Iraq is a significantly different place than during Obama's first visit in January 2006, when the country was caught in a growing Sunni insurgency and was moving toward a flood of Sunni-Shiite violence.
Militant attacks and targeted killings by sectarian death squads is sharply down _ by many measures back to levels before the rise of the Sunni insurgency in 2004.
So far this month, the U.S. military has reported nine soldier deaths in Iraq, in addition to the discovery of two bodies of soldiers abducted last year. The lowest monthly toll of the war was this May, when 19 military deaths were reported.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, U.S. military officials say the number of attacks in eastern regions, where most of the foreign troops are American, has increased by 40 percent so far in 2008 compared with the same period in 2007.
But there are pockets of concern in Iraq.
Bombings and slayings have been creeping higher in the northern city of Mosul, the last main urban stronghold for al-Qaida in Iraq. Insurgents also remain entrenched in the Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad and a main gateway to the city. Iraqi authorities have announced plans to send more forces into the area.
No major attacks were reported Tuesday in the Baghdad area.
Obama arrived following a brief stop in Kuwait, a key U.S. ally. The delegation met Sunday with the emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and other senior officials, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
In Afghanistan, Obama met with U.S. military commanders and troops and held talks with President Hamid Karzai.
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